Agricultural heritage tourism development and heritage conservation: a case study of the Samaba Rice Terraces, Yunnan, China

ABSTRACT

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) attract large numbers of tourists and are therefore seen as financially lucrative heritage spaces with the potential to drive heritage conservation. This case study of the Samaba Rice Terraces in Yunnan, China revealed that GIAHS practices are currently framed by a top-down approach that is influenced by a Chinese authorized heritage discourse, which problematically emphasizes the discourses of government authorities, thereby detracting from vernacular narratives of silence. Although a small number of residents have benefited from agricultural heritage tourism development, most are now excluded from local heritage practices. The removal of local opinions and livelihoods may lead to both emigration and depopulation, which ultimately threatens the sustainability of the heritage site.

KEYWORDS:

• Agricultural heritage tourism
• Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GiAHS)
• community participation
• heritage conservation
• authorized heritage discourse

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Ms. Miqiu Li and Mr. Chaofa Ma for their help during my fieldwork. I also appreciate all interviewees for their kind help and support. I give special thanks to Dr. Andrew Law and Prof. Qingwen Min for their suggestions and help with this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author Biography

Su Zhang, PhD, is currently an assistant professor at the Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China. Her research interests include heritage conservation, critical heritage studies, and heritage tourism.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Faculty Research Grants of Macau University of Science and Technology, under the contract FRG-21-007-FHTM.